The present invention pertains to the field of bead weaving.
More specifically, the present invention pertains to a bead-support device for a bead-weaving system, a needle for a weaving system and a storage device for a bead-weaving system.
Traditionally, bead weavingxe2x80x94whether on a recreational, handicraft or industrial basisxe2x80x94has been performed by hand and requires a particular dexterity.
In order for the beads to be held in position, it is necessary to perform a forward weaving and a return weaving of the weft thread, transversely to the warp threads.
This operation is problematical especially when implementing the return weaving because it is necessary that the holes in the beads be correctly aligned so as to allow passage of the weft thread in each of the holes of the beads.
Furthermore, the operation of threading the beads on the needle becomes more difficult because the beads that have already been threaded must be held back with a finger so that they do not fall off due to gravity when it is desired to thread additional beads.
Making available the beads also creates problems since it is necessary to be able to easily choose the sufficient quantity of beads of the desired color during the bead selection phase, since the bead-stitching phase requires having available an adequate surface and since it is also necessary to have available means for storing the unused beads.
The goal of the present invention is to resolve the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a system to facilitate the weaving and to enable easy production of the products, without particular concern for dexterity, by facilitating selection of the beads, their stitching and the storage after weaving of the unused beads.
Thus, the present invention pertains to a bead-weaving system comprising means for spacing apart a multiplicity of warp threads, each of said beads being pierced by a hole through their diameter and intended to be threaded on a weft thread by means of a needle and to be positioned between each warp thread.
The bead-support device is constituted, in its broadest sense, of a baseplate intended to be positioned under the warp threads so as to maintain said beads during the forward weaving and the return weaving of said weft thread transversely to said warp threads.
The needle, in its broadest sense, presents a body comprising at one end an eye for passage of a weft thread and at the other end a point comprising means for holding said beads.
The bead-weaving system comprises at least one bin presenting, in its broadest sense, a multiplicity of walls as well as at least one opening provided on a wall and equipped with a closing means, with the opening of said bin feeding over a receiving tray with rims to make available the at least partial content of said bin and to concentrate the reentering flow when storing in the interior of said bin.
Said baseplate of the bead-support device preferably comprises a return end. Said baseplate also preferably comprises means making possible suspension of said bead-support device on the warp threads. Said means enabling suspension of said bead-support device on said warp threads are preferably constituted by a band of material that can be positioned across said warp threads. Said base preferably presents at least partially an unsmooth surface as well as means for the regular spacing apart of said warp threads. Said regular spacing means can be constituted by a multiplicity of regularly spaced apart cavities in which can be positioned the free parts of the warp threads.
Thus, the bead-support device facilitates the weaving of the weft thread and enables easier and more rapid weaving operations.
The free diameter of the needle""s holding means is between 110 and 200%, preferably on the order of 140%, of the average internal diameter of said holes. In one variant, said holding means are constituted by a flocking. In another variant, said holding means are constituted by a multiplicity of barbs. In another variant, said holding means are constituted by a multiplicity of strips. Said strips are longitudinal, transverse or helicoid. The point of the needle is preferably blunt.
Thus, due to the holding means, the beads that have already been threaded on the needle are maintained, the previously threaded beads do not interfere with the threading of additional beads and it is much easier to thread additional beads.
The bin""s receiving tray preferably has an unsmooth covering. This unsmooth covering is preferably constituted by felt. The receiving tray can be located, for example, in the extension of a base wall of the bin. In one variant, said bins are arranged in pairs with each pair of bins fitted with a single receiving tray and a single shutter which can be moved between a position in which the first opening is free, a position in which both openings are blocked and a position in which the second opening is free. The shutter preferably separates said receiving tray into two compartments. This shutter has either the form of a rigid hammer whose handle is mounted in a mobile manner on a shaft or in the form of a flexible, deformable hammer. The storage device is preferably constituted of two parts, with the bin bottom and the receiving tray forming a first part and the top wall and the lateral walls of the bin, plus the shutter and the rims of the receiving tray forming a second part.
Thus, the storage device according to the invention, with its receiving tray system, makes available a surface which is both a display surface facilitating the threading of the beads in a delimited zone and also a surface facilitating the storage, equipped with rims converging toward the opening of the recipient(s).
Thus, likewise, the storage device according to the invention is very simple to implement and inexpensive, especially in its variant of paired bins, each dosed by a single shutter forming separation of the receiving tray into two compartments.